Pet stores. Just ugh.

[Sarahmooo]

I was walking around the only local pet store we have that sells puppies, and came across this.
A "CKC Miniature Shetland Sheepdog".
Not only is CKC awful, there no such thing as a 'mini' sheltie, but the puppy is BIGGER than the average shetland sheepdog that size, and it looked so sick.
It's not that I'm surprised, it just makes me angry people can be so stupid.
:
They also had an "AKC golden yorkie male" that costed $1220 who was already much larger than a full grown yorkie should be at all.
As well as all the "CKC" registered poodle mixes.

I took pictures of the 'Sheltie'. Thought I'd share.

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[Kipluck]

Miniature Sheltie? rolleyes Now, I have heard Shetland Sheepdogs occasionally called "Miniature Collies" but a mini-sheltie?

Okay, apparently they exist, though they are not recognized by the AKC and may not be good for the dog. Interesting article about them here.  

[Eizoryu]

Pfft. "Miniature" is just a marketing gimmick, anyway. A beagle breeder with a 13h beagle told me to never listen to anyone advertising a "miniature" beagle and explained to me the difference between the 13h and 15h. She hated those kinds of people with a bloody passion. A "miniature" beagle is the 13" (upper limit) class.

I don't like the use of the term to describe any sort of dog breed. It's like saying that a small Dane b***h when compared to a 150lb+ Dane dog is a "mini Dane". No, she's not mini, she's just on the lower end of the height/weight for her breed and sex. Or when comparing the American Lab to the English Lab. The latter is a larger, heavier dog who is bred for show/conformation. The former is more a sporting/field build.

I think that so called "sheltie" is a Rough Collie. Someone's going to get an interesting surprise when that pup becomes a 22"-26" tall at the shoulder dog.

It's not that the people selling them are necessarily stupid (though I'm willing to bet that's part of it), it's that small, cute things sell better than something advertised to be a bigger or purebred dog, especially in the Companion classes. People more readily gravitate towards a Mini Dox than they would a plain old Dachshund. Same for Toy Yorkies vs. Standards, or any Toy/Mini vs. Standard.

Some dumb b***h even asked me once where she could get a "Miniature Chow-chow like the one on the Martha Stewart sign". I at first said that I didn't think there was a such thing (and there's not), then she made the distinction of it being the Chow on the signage. I said that it was just a regular Chow puppy, she refused to believe me, so I just thought 'hell with it' and told her to look up a breeder. If she doesn't like franchised employee advice, fine, she can learn it from hopefully as passionate a breeder as the beagle one I talked to.